Lift the Cap

The Charter Center is leading efforts to once and for all eliminate the arbitrary cap on the number of charter schools that can open in New York. We are working toward the day when every child in New York can attend the public school of their choice.

20Based on our projections, there will be 15-20 charters left by the end of 2017.

47,800NYC students are currently on charter school waitlists.

2018At the current authorization rate, NYC will run out of charters by the end of 2018.

Demand for High-Quality Charter Options Continues to Rise

NYC families continue to demand charter schools in their communities, even as nearly 48,000 children remain on charter school waitlists citywide. Moreover, in an August 2016 Quinnipiac poll, 51% of NYC voters would prefer their children attend a charter school rather than a district school.

Status of the Cap

The Charter Center monitors the number of charters still available in New York City and New York State. New York has capped the number of charter schools that can open in the state at 460. As of June 2017, 147 charters remain to be issued statewide, including 23 charters remaining in NYC, by one of New York’s two authorizers – the State Education Department Board of Regents (Regents) and the SUNY Charter School Institute (SUNY).

*The statewide charter school cap of 460 has not changed, but it has effectively been increased by 22 as the new law has revived a subset of charters previously revoked (and which previously could not be used again).